Can someone make the cutesy retro cupcake places stop opening please! Jesus.
It pains me. Maybe it's because I lived about four blocks away from Magnolia in NYC, and watched the lame-o tourists stand in line for a half hour at 10pm for a really-kind-of-dry-and-only-decent-at-best cupcake. Maybe it's because I suffered through the same "old fashion-ish cupcake bakery" explosion four or five years ago in NYC. Or maybe I'm just a bitter old lady. Whatever, this "trend" in Seattle is just killing me.
It reminds me of when I heard Jeffrey Chodorow (read his blog...please. it's so worth it) was opening a "Pacific Northwest Seafood Restaurant" called Wild Salmon in the doomed used-to-be 'Tuscan', used-to-be 'English is Italian' space on a strip in no-man's 3rd Ave. He even went so far as to hire Charlie Ramseyer, who cooked so-so seafood at Ray's Boathouse for a million years. Of course, Chodorow was just going for what (to New Yorkers) would look like the authentic deal: Hire a chef from the PNW, he'll knows his salmon, right? Sure. Then send out press releases on what a salmon expert he is. "Did you know they cook on alder planks out there! So Native!" Yep, folks, even New Yorkers fall for this marketing-driven crap from time-to-time.
Anyways, back to the cupcakes. Long before the first Cupcake Royale opened in Madrona, NY was neck-deep in the "old fashioned bakery" trend. And I guess the reason all of these places opening here in Seattle bothers me--besides the deja vu--is that I just didn't think we Seattlites would be such suckers for what, to me, is such an already-been-there/done-that trend.
Anyways, if you go to the new one in West Seattle, let me know if they have banana pudding. That's another Magnolia fave that I'm sure someone's lining up to "borrow" as the next "it" treat.
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4 comments:
OK, ms. fancy plants, what's your recipe for a top-notch cupcake?
Cupcakes are a 50cent item in my book. Straight out of the box with cheap frosting and maybe some redhots on top. They're not meant to be a boutique item. That's what cake is for.
Anyone know a good pudding cupcake recipe?
Anyone know Magnolia Bakery was shut down a couple of weeks ago because of RATS in the kitchen?? Just reopened. Seattle visitors beware.
I read it was because they didn't have a hand sink near the icing station, but whatever. How many NYC restaurants do you think DON'T have rats in the kitchen?
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